Launch Of Next Jupiter Mission Targeted For August
Lockheed Martin shipped NASA's Juno spacecraft to Kennedy Space
Center, FL. on April 8. The vehicle will undergo four months of
testing and processing in preparation for its launch on a United
Launch Alliance Atlas V 551 vehicle in early August. During the
past year, the spacecraft was assembled and tested at Lockheed
Martin Space Systems Company facilities near Denver, CO.
Juno Testing In Colorado
Juno is NASA's next mission to Jupiter and is the second of the
agency's New Frontiers missions. Scheduled to arrive at Jupiter in
July 2016, the spacecraft will spend a little more than a year
orbiting over the poles of the gas giant while studying the
planet's origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere.
"From the earliest stages of this mission, we've worked closely
with the mission's principal investigator Scott Bolton and his
science team to understand the challenges of their science
objectives," said Jim Crocker, vice president of Sensing and
Exploration Systems at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.
"Then, in close partnership with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, our
team designed and built a unique and amazing spacecraft that will
garner that highly-sought science while dealing with the harsh
radiation environment of Jupiter."
Assembled Juno Spacecraft Prior To Shipping
The 3,600-pound spacecraft was transported on an Air Force C-17
Globemaster III transport plane in an environmentally controlled
container. The C-17 and its precious cargo touched down at 1955 EDT
at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. Juno was then
transported to Astrotech Space Operations in Titusville, FL,
where it will go through final processing. "Delivering Juno
to Kennedy Space Center marks an important milestone in the
mission," said Tim Gasparrini, Juno program manager at Lockheed
Martin Space Systems Company. "The spacecraft has undergone a
rigorous environmental test program in Denver but we still have
plenty of work to do as our team focuses on processing the
spacecraft for a successful launch."
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, manages the Juno
mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of Southwest
Research Institute at San Antonio, Texas. Lockheed Martin Space
Systems, Denver, CO, is building the spacecraft. The Italian Space
Agency in Rome is contributing an infrared spectrometer instrument
and a portion of the radio science experiment.